The Federal Supreme Court (STF) began judging the first criminal cases for the January 8 coup in an extraordinary session this Wednesday morning, the 13th.
The first defendants will be the computer scientist and former employee of the Basic Sanitation Services Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp) Aécio Lucio Costa Pereira, the forestry engineer Thiago de Assis Mathar and the delivery men Moacir José dos Santos and Matheus Lima de Carvalho Lazaro, accused of direct participation in the invasion of public buildings in Praça dos Três Poderes.
The complaint states that they acted to “provoke and fuel the turmoil, with the intention of seizing power and destroying the Planalto Palace, the National Congress and the Federal Supreme Court”.
They are responsible for five crimes: armed criminal conspiracy, violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, deterioration of protected property and qualified damage due to violence and serious threat.
Only Moacir Santos is free.
Others will be able to follow the session in prison.
The actions are judged individually, starting with that of Aécio Pereira.
Step by step of the process
– Minister Alexandre de Moraes (rapporteur) presented the report;
– Minister Kassio Nunes Marques (auditor) can supplement the report;
– The Attorney General and the defense will each have up to one hour to present their arguments;
– The voting starts with the rapporteur, then the auditor votes and then the order follows the pattern: from the youngest minister, Cristiano Zanin, to the oldest, Gilmar Mendes, and finally the president of the court.
The most serious crimes first
The STF decided to start by judging those responsible for the most serious crimes: 232 people out of a total of 1,395 reported by the General Prosecutor’s Office (PGR). The expectation is to conclude this first wave of trials by the end of the year.
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the events of January 8, authorized the PGR to negotiate non-criminal agreements with some of the accused of the coup plotters. The agreement is accessible only to those responsible for crimes of medium offensive potential, i.e. to those who had a secondary participation in the coup acts.
The vandals who invaded and vandalized the buildings in Praça dos Três Poderes are not entitled to the agreement.
The STF has been working to provide a rapid response to scammers. PGR complaints have been analyzed en masse in the virtual plenary in weekly trials over the past four months.
Minister Rosa Weber, president of the court, has been the judiciary’s spokesperson for anti-democratic acts and has also tried to speed up trials before retiring: she will leave the Supreme Court this month.
The complaints received so far target radicals who have invaded and vandalized public buildings and people accused of inciting the coup.
The PGR also reported seven officers of the Military Police of the Federal District for omission and incitement to violent protests, but the Supreme Court has not yet analyzed the case. The attorney general’s office is still investigating whether other public officials were negligent or collaborated with the coup plotters. Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) is one of the suspects.
Public
The defendants have been heard by STF assistant judges in virtual hearings in recent weeks. Aécio Lucio Costa Pereira said he arrived in Brasilia on the eve of the coups and paid for the trip with his own resources. He also claimed that he entered the Senate to “take some photos” because he was unfamiliar with the building, and that there was no police blockade. He denied having participated in acts of vandalism.
Thiago de Assis Mathar said he left São José do Rio Preto (SP) headed to the Federal District on a chartered bus. He said he attended the protest in “support of Brazil” and denied that the demonstrations were aimed at ousting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The engineer also denied having participated in the destruction of public buildings. “I would never do what I’m told,” he said. The defense also specified that the accusations made against the client are “extremely generic”. Mathar was arrested at the Palácio do Planalto, after spending approximately two hours circulating freely in the building.
Moacir José dos Santos went to Brasilia on the eve of the coup and was also arrested in Planalto. He left Cascavel (PR), where he had been camping for days in front of the Army headquarters. The delivery man said he entered the presidential building after the building had already been vandalized. “I organized it. There were a lot of broken chairs,” he said.
Investigators found scam messages on Matheus Lima de Carvalho Lazaro’s cell phone. He sent audio and video of the demonstrations on January 8 to his wife, who stayed in Apucarana (PR), where the couple lives. The defense claims the messages were “just a private expression.”
Source: Terra
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